TiVo isn’t dead because people know TiVo owns all.  I can get 100 different MP3 players but Apple is what I want even though more expensive.  Its because you know its quality.  I think this is going to save TiVo and I’ll be buying one as soon as preorder starts…

Reply to this: comment | thread

I would love to see Tivo make it as I love my Tivo.  As for the poeple that think DVR’s are all the same,  I bet they have never used a Tivo as all other DVR’s suck.

Reply to this: comment | thread

Regarding the remote: Early TiVo remotes had four directional buttons and an enter in the center. Though I love almost everything else about the current peanut remote, I still miss those directional buttons from my Sony Tivo PVR.

I’m glad to see they brought this back.

Reply to this: comment | thread

I live in Australia.  When will TiVo be available in Australia?? There’s nothing like it here at the moment.

Reply to this: comment | thread

As a DirecTivo user I’m feeling a little left out here—unless I misunderstand the “two cable slots” item. Will I be able to use this with my DTV sat dish? Or will there be another model for satellite input?

Reply to this: comment | thread

DTiVo is a thing of the past.  D* is going with NDS software on their own hardware.  Your only hope to stay with TiVo software is to ditch Sat. and go over to cable via Cable card (and watch the frequent rate hikes with glee).

Reply to this: comment | thread

I thought it was interesting how defensive TiVo pony was about who will manufacture their upcoming box (see 9:50 in the video)  TiVo has spent years developing relationships with suppliers and it would have seemed likely to me that Humax, Phillips & the other usual suspects would be building the new series 3.  I’d love to get TiVo Pony at one of my poker games because when asked about the manufactuer he shut down and basically said that they weren’t allowed to disclose this info?  His body language does make it seem like the manufactuer will be a big deal.  It doesn’t make a lot sense that this info would be secretive unless there is going to be a change from the usual vendors.

I think that you got the price range way wrong.  I expect that we’ll see the TiVo box come out at a price of $200 and it will be manufactured by Walmart.  They won’t call it a Google cube, but they will include a home operating system by Google on the final device.  What better way for Google to compete directly with Softie then to turn TiVo into an affordable computer to serve their ads on? 

Google can deny that they are working on this product, but they’ve been in talks with TiVo for 8 months.  It wouldn’t be surprising if someone at Walmart had loose lips and didn’t realize that they intended to announce this closer to when TiVo releases the box.

Reply to this: comment | thread

Wow to the user above…

It will be at least $600+.  The HD DirecTV Tivo was $1000, why would this be 1/5 of that price.  A 40 hour right now is $200 and this one has a lot more HD space and features.  Maybe it will eventually be $200 but it won’t start that way. 

Google might be involved in the same way Yahoo! is right now.  Providing content and such but to make the leap that its going to have some secret Google OS is just insane.  And how the hell is Walmart going to manufacture it if they aren’t a manufacturer.  Is Walkmart going to build factories just so they can make TiVos?  LOL!  I have no idea where this Walmart thing is even coming from.  And lastly, just because they can’t disclose who will be making it doesn’t mean anything if they are still in active negotiations with the companies.  His body language makes me think he’s sick of answering the same questions a million times.

At least you made me laugh today…

Reply to this: comment | thread

I wish you guys asked him what the max resolution the Tivo supports. It showed 1080i and I’m hoping that it can go up to 1080p.

Reply to this: comment | thread

We did talk to them about resolution - 1080i is the max.

Reply to this: comment | thread

where is the video? Am I missing something?

Reply to this: comment | thread

Bryan,

I’m glad you got a chuckle out of my post, but I think that there is a lot more then this video that makes me suspect that Google has already bought out TiVo.  The Walmart angle is from the rumor that they vehmently denied.  I hate to burst your bubble, but Walmart is absolutely a manufacturer.  They currently sell their generic iLo product for less then $100, a $200 box may be aggressive, but not impossible if subsidized by Google.  Walmart makes everything in China and have the ability to dictate terms in a way that TiVo or even Google can’t.  Google/TiVo would definetely take a loss on the hardware, but the stakes are huge and with Microsoft including Media Center on their Vista product, I expect that Google and Apple will respond this year.  I could be wrong and they could always sell if for more, but I think that you are seriously discounting the amount of revenue that TiVo/Google can receive in advertising.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20060105.html

According to Tech Journalist Robert X. Cringely, Google is currently setting up a server farm to allow for the digital insertion of commericials.  This is very similar to what Open TV is doing in Austrailia right now.  The potential revenue for this type of advertising will be huge.  Imagine watching the travel Channel on Fiji and being able to buy tickets by pushing your thumbs up button on your remote.  TiVo stores your credit card and earns a nice little commission when you buy.  They could work out partnerships with people like Dominoes where you hit a button and in 30 minutes a pizza shows up at your door paid for.  The potential is huge and billions of ad dollars are at stake.  This is why DirecTV is giving away their boxes and while Microsoft will essentially be doing the same thing by including their software on all of their PCs and integrating the PVR into the Xbox 360. 

At Google’s CES booth they were asked about Yahoo’s new PVR and they mocked them.  When asked about Media Center they responded that Softie was only reacting, but when they were asked about TiVo they said that they thought the company was very progressive and really understood the direction that television was heading.  It could be that Google is simply giving props to their competition or it could be that they don’t intend to announce their partnership yet, but it’s clear that they did enter into negotiations that may or may not involve an equity investment 8 months ago.  There hasn’t been any update to their talks and it’s possible that maybe a deal fell through, but I suspect otherwise.

When TiVo was preparing to launch to series 2, they went out of their way to publisize their suppliers by issuing constant press releases in the year prior to launch.  Why is this information confidential now?  Why not say that we are going to use Humax and Pannasonic and Sony like we always have and like we are currently using for the series 2?  They already have these partnerships in place, why would they think that this was a big deal, unless there is more to the story?

You can call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but if I’m right, I’ll have a sold gold tinfoil hat instead of the tinfoil that lines my walls right now.  Laugh it up while you can, we’ll know whether or not I’m right before the end of the year.

Reply to this: comment | thread

I like that our interview is causing so much speculation and discussion. It should be noted that there were a few questions I asked on the video that I had already received answers to from a separate TiVo rep before going on camera.

They were:
A) Series 3’s shipping capacity. (On video, this is incorrect, but Pony corrected himself after we shot.)
B) If you could (stupidly) downscale an HD recording to “basic” quality or some such. I was told yes, even though that made little sense, and didn’t think to confirm or deny before asking on camera. Pony’s answer is correct.
C) Who will be manufacturing the new TiVo? The person I spoke to before Pony said they would be manufactured <em>by TiVo</em>. That’s the reason I asked about the manufacturers on camera.

All your talk about Google acquiring TiVo is nothing new, and frankly, I’d welcome it. So long as Google knew what they were doing (and they usually do) as far as ad-placement and annoyance levels are concerned, it could bring some great features and low cost points to the model. (Think, no more monthly fees, if you opt-in to slightly more aggressive ads?)

Meanwhile, TiVo’s recent inclusion of much partnered-with-Yahoo content shouldn’t be ignored… You can bet that TiVo would have to Ctrl+Z all that Yahoo stuff we’re seeing on our boxes if Google up and bought them…

Time will tell, I suppose…

Reply to this: comment | thread

Quick question RE: six tuners. Probably a stupid one, but please bare with me

Does this mean that with two cable cards I can record uh..six shows at once?

I currently have the MOXI from charter, and with that i can either record two and not watch any, or watch one and record one. (or also record the one I’m watching)

On certain nights though (wed especially at 9) there’s three shows that I watch. I’d like to be able to at least record 2 and watch a different 3rd.

Will tivo 3 do that?

Reply to this: comment | thread

I suspect the “six-tuner” story is a misunderstanding. More likely it is really two tuners that can each operate with NTSC, ATSC, or QAM so you can get any combination of two of those. There is no need to use separate tuners for different modulation methods.

Reply to this: comment | thread

How was the response time on the menus?  Is the channel guide any faster than the slow-as-molassas-in-Siberia Series 1&2 units?

Reply to this: comment | thread

I wish you guys asked him what the max resolution the Tivo supports. It showed 1080i and I’m hoping that it can go up to 1080p.

Reply to this: comment | thread

I live in Kiev, Ukraine.  When will TiVo be available in Ukraine?? There’s nothing like it here at the moment.

Reply to this: comment | thread

The TiVo remote has undergone a redesign for Series 3. It keeps the traditional peanut shape and is now weighted to one side, with one side ribbed, so you can tell which end is up, even in the dark.

Reply to this: comment | thread

I suspect the “six-tuner” story is a misunderstanding. More likely it is really two tuners that can each operate with NTSC, ATSC, or QAM so you can get any combination of two of those. There is no need to use separate tuners for different modulation methods.

Reply to this: comment | thread

It would be fine if such was in Ukraine. How many to us yet to wait?

Reply to this: comment | thread

All your talk about Google acquiring TiVo is nothing new, and frankly, I’d welcome it. So long as Google knew what they were doing (and they usually do) as far as ad-placement and annoyance levels are concerned, it could bring some great features and low cost points to the model. (Think, no more monthly fees, if you opt-in to slightly more aggressive ads?)

Reply to this: comment | thread

I currently have the MOXI from charter, and with that i can either record two and not watch any, or watch one and record one. (or also record the one I’m watching)

On certain nights though (wed especially at 9) there’s three shows that I watch. I’d like to be able to at least record 2 and watch a different 3rd.

Reply to this: comment | thread